By Jamie Tarrant,
Thursday, July 19, 2007
It seems every day a new mining company announces their exploration plans for Labrador. Aurora Energy, Bayswater Uranium and Crosshair Exploration and Mining Corp make up three of the 35 companies investing (a combined total of $116 million) in Labrador exploration projects this year. With uranium selling for $140 a pound, it makes no wonder why companies from as far away as British Columbia, and the U.S. are eyeing Labrador's rich supply of nickel-copper, iron ore, copper-zinc, mineral sands, gold, and uranium.
Uranium is gaining the most attention (from environmental groups) mainly because of the mining industries' negligent safety practices in the past. An example of this negligence is Dennison's Elliot Lake mine is Northern Ontario where from the early 50's to the late 70's a shocking 201 of the 221 former miners died from lung cancer. Radon emitted from the mine is believed to be the culprit. It affects us because it is formed by the disintegration of radium a product of uranium. What happens is radon emits alpha particles, and produces radioactive products called radon daughters. If inhaled, it can increase the risk of lung cancer.
What advocacy groups don't tell you is, disasters like Elliot Lake have led to some of the most stringent safety procedures in place by industry today and enforced by both levels of government. Employees are wearing dosimeter badges now to check for radiation levels along with protective clothing while handling core samples. Workers are now limited to how long they work in areas where they are exposed to high radiation levels. Ways have been developed to safely dispose of the radioactive waste known as tailings.
The reason, why government-regulating bodies--like the Canadian Nuclear Association--pay close attention to industries safety procedures also involves cost. The Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) are still paying an average of $400,000 for each death caused by the Elliot Lake mine. An estimated $70 million to date has been spent in compensation to families-a huge chunk of change for the province's taxpayer.
Independent groups like the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada have played an important role by educating people about safe uranium mining practices, with both a National Education Centre in Toronto, and National Laboratories in Saskatoon, Sask.
One of the most alarming facts the average Canadian may not know is the amount of uranium exposure from other industries.
In 2000 Health Canada's National Dose Registry conducted a study where they examined 135,000 Canadians (1,703 from Newfoundland and Labrador) monitored for radiation exposure in the workplace. Only 12 per cent, or 16,000 of that total number tested, worked in the nuclear energy industry, including mining and plants.
What this means is 88 per cent of workers in other industries, are exposed to dangerous uranium levels without any reliable safety measures in place. These industries include airports, Canadian Armed Forces, construction (buildings, roads and highways), food processing, police forces, and telecommunications industries. But that is only six of more than 25 industries listed in the study.
On a more positive note, we couldn't survive without radiation. In the food industry it is used to kill bacteria, parasites and insects in food. In the medical field it is used for diagnosis and treatment of disease. The household conveniences we all take for granted such as: computer disks, smoke detectors, photocopiers and hair cosmetics, are made possible by radioactive materials.
Building trust from the public is the hard part for the uranium mining industry today.
Mining companies have an obligation to gain back trust, but it really needs to be put in perspective. If political, agenda-setting advocacy groups and media establishments only provide half the information about the uranium industry, then the public has to meet them halfway and research the truth on their own.
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